O.C. Insider: OLu's Cody Nadeau

The Scoop on ... Orange Lutheran’s Cody Nadeau

The Basics: 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, forward, senior

Quick Evaluation: Nadeau provides the inside muscle for a quick, athletic team that thrives off its ability to penetrate. Lancers Coach Chris Nordstrom describes Nadeau as “probably an undersized power forward,” whose dedication to the weight room has helped him gain the strength to take on bigger post players. At the same time, his athleticism helps him beat those bigger players down the court in transition. He’s averaging 14.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.

Quick Study: Nadeau did not specialize in basketball until high school, after years of also playing soccer, baseball and volleyball. Last season, his first as a varsity basketball player, Nadeau came off the bench. Lutheran expected more this season, but the extent of his improvement did not crystallize until a summer tournament in Las Vegas. The Lancers won, and Nadeau was named MVP.

“At that point,” Nordstrom said, “I realized there was a little more that he was able to bring to the table.”

Said Nadeau: “Probably 80 percent of it (the improved play) goes to the weight room, working in there. A lot of basketball guys don’t really like lifting, but I found it to be an advantage. ... It’s fun. I go on the weekends, too.

“Some of the lifts … helped me be more explosive, explode back up to get rebounds, trying to power through someone inside.”

Favorite lift:The hang clean. (Check it out: http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/OlympicLifts/HangClean.html)

Favorite gift: Musical ability.

The giver:Genetics. His father Kevin composes and produces music for commercials. We’ve seen and heard his work in ads for McDonald’s, Knots Berry Farm and Toyota, among others.

Musical ambitions: Nadeau received a callback audition for USC’s jazz guitar program.

“I want to be a studio musician,” Nadeau said, “getting calls for anything - commercials, movies, artists’ CDs.”

Eventually, he wants to follow his father as a producer.

Musical traditions: Kevin Nadeau has a studio in the family’s home in Villa Park. Cody sometimes trekked with him to L.A., where Kevin does his final sound mix.

“I’ve been around it all my life,” Cody said. “He has been a big influence.”

Cody started on piano, and, “Initially I was opposed to guitar. I thought it was stupid. I don’t know why.”

A church youth leader turned him on to acoustic guitar, and Nadeau has progressed to the point of co-writing commercial pieces with his father “on some more modern stuff.”

At his father's studio sessions, Cody looks forward to “hanging around with older musicians, learning stuff. ... I don’t try to be a pest, but I try to get as much information as I can.”

His band: A Sound Aside. “Kind of sounds like Cartel. It’s not really hard rock, but not soft.”

He’s not the lead singer. A member of the honors chamber choir, “I’m not good singing by myself. I’m better in a group.”

Time Management: Who could possibly do all of this?

Nadeau is a good student, he became a top basketball player by dedicating abundant hours to the weight room, and he’s a standout musician.

“My dad’s taught me the meaning of conscientious,” Nadeau said.

Said Nordstrom: “He’s a date-your-daughter kind of kid.”

Contact the writer: jkay@ocregister.com